Audiology News
 

Who is using the Audiology Discussions Forum

Ali A. Mohiuddin and Tasneem F. Mohiuddin, www.aud.org.uk, December 2006

 

More than years after starting what is a very specialised international forum for audiology professionals, we thought that our forum members may be interested to see some information on who is using the forum and how the forum is doing.

To do this we analysed the forum at a moment of time on 9th December 2006 and our findings are given below.

About the Audiology Discussions forum

In setting up the Audiology Discussions forum the objectives were to facilitate audiology discussions to occur between like-minded professionals across the world.

The forum was, and is, a unique experiment set-up for audiology professionals to use without any restrictions or boundaries with respect to the type of audiology related occupation they are doing, the country they are in, or any affiliation to any particular professional organisations being required to join. As such, the Audiology Discussions forum allows for those who are far apart and separated by borders, countries, politics and time to come together in a unique setting to exchange and discuss ideas on a professional level with regards to matters such as practice, research, training and teaching, as well as to help formulate new ideas and solutions through active discussions.

Since when has the forum been in operation?

The Audiology Discussions forum was first set-up on:the 21^st July 2004, with the first few members of the forum joining up in the latter part of July 2004 and the beginning of August 2004.

How many people have written on the forum?

The number who have written, which is also the number of active forum members, to-date is:

How many posts have been written on the forum?

The total number of posts is continuously changing but is currently:

Which countries do the members come from?

Active users of the Audiology Discussions forum currently come from 16 different countries in the world (there are also users from other countries in the new user group, but as these people have yet to post, these have not been included in this figure). The countries our forum members come from by world region are as follows:

Member Activity / Contributions to the forum Discussions

A summary of the activity of the members who have posted on the forum is (excluding admin members) is as follows:

Activity for each country:

Number of Members from Each Country & Forum Activity	Total
England: 12 highly active ( inc 3 moderators) + 50 active + 32 less active	94
USA: 3 noted for excellence (including 1 moderator of higher activity) + 4 active + 4 less active	11
Ireland: 1 highly active + 3 active	4
Australia: 1 very high activity + 2 less active	3
Serbia: 1 highly activity	1
Canada: 1 noted for excellence + 3 active + 1 less active	5
Wales: 6 active + 3 less active	9
New Zealand: 2 active + 1 less active	3
Pakistan: 1 active	1
Saudi Arabia: 1 active	1
Malaysia: 1 active	1
Jordan: 1 active	1
Denmark: 1 active	1
Indonesia: 1 active	1
Scotland: 4 less active	4
Germany: 1 less active	1

Key:

Very active members and very regular contributors of high quality posts (Advanced & Higher Member groups) Active members (Novice Member & Member groups) Less active members who don't visit or post on the forum so often, and as such may not have visited for quite some time (Limited & Dormant Member groups) Members who are world renowned and noted for excellence in their field of study, research and or practice (Noted for Excellence group). In addition it should be noted that there are also a number of leading professionals in the ordinary member groups as listed above.

What do our members do for a living?

The following is a summary of just how some of our forum members have described themselves (as listed for their profession within their profile settings or elsewhere with in the forum e.g. signature etc):

Audiologist, Audiological Physician, Audiological Scientist, Senior Audiologist, Pediatric Audiologist, Qualified Audiologist, Audiology Lecturer, Asst. Professor of Audiology, Clinical Lecturer in Audiology, Trainee Audiological Scientist, Trainee Audiologist, Audiology Student (BSc, MSc, AuD / Doctoral Student), PhD Student in an Audiology related field, ENT Doctor, Physician with interests in otoneurology, Otolaryngologist, Audiologist & General Manager (for large company), Student Hearing Aid Dispenser, Registered Hearing Aid Dispenser, Hearing Therapist, Chief Audiologist and Hearing Therapist, Audiologist & registered hearing aid dispenser, Speech and Language Pathologist with an interest in Audiology, Speech Pathology & Audiology Student, Acoustics student with an interest in audiology

Summary

After what was a very slow start to the forum, both forum membership numbers and amount of forum activity now appears to be starting to pick-up a little. Matters were made more difficult as the use of an online forum was a first for many of those who joined to use the forum (from the Audiology professional target userbase) but those who were willing and enthusiastic to learn, quickly picked up how to use the technology. In addition it may be noted that the use of an online forum is not suited for all audiology professionals and requires those with an enthusiasm and interest for both taking part in the discussions, and in the use of the technology.

The forum is unique in the world with an active membership base, from many different countries, who regularly take part in the forum discussions related to audiology practice, research and study.

There is a very wide range of audiology related professions represented by the forum members, with many undertaking university teaching and research as well as the practice of audiology. Those working in industry (in leading companies manufacturing hearing aids and cochlear implants) are also represented on the forum, as are research scientists and PhD students working in both industry and academic environments. There is also a wide range in age and experience, with members ranging from audiology students to leading professionals from around the world.

At this stage we could do with more members to grow and sustain the forum. In particular new members from any country (particularly those from outside England, UK) would be very welcome to join in on our international audiology forum.

Finally we would like to thank all our forum members who through their active participation in contributing to the forum discussions have kept the forum going. In addition current forum members would be particularly encouraged to inform anyone that they think would be interested in taking part in the discussions as to the location of the Audiology Discussions forum, as it has been particularly hard to let potential members (who would be interested in taking part in such online discussions) know about the existence and whereabouts of the Audiology Discussions forum.

Additional Information
The Audiology Discussions forum is a part of the Audiology Resources website.

All who are professionals working in Audiology or a closely related field are welcome to join the forum and take part in the discussions. If you are new to forums you may wish to view our forum introduction page first.

Copyright
Article © 2006, Audiology Resources Website, http://www.aud.org.uk, Dr A.A. Mohiuddin & Dr T. F. Mohiuddin, All rights reserved.